Had a great Opening Trout weekend on the Upper Manistee River, some great dry fly action on Hendrickson’s and a few Caddis. Steelhead rods have been put away. Trout rods are the main focus, and smallmouth and pike rods are really close by. I love the change of season’s, and look forward to chasing some great fish this spring.
I saw this post today on Instagram and had to share, of a massive brown trout eating a big foam fly. Something about waking up to single digit temperatures, makes me thinking of dry fly fishing. Maybe it’s when you can’t have something, you just want it more. Summer can’t get here soon enough.
Kean fishing in Chile this week just sent us this picture of an impressive 23″ brown trout. Kean continues to believe in the luck of the Mangled Fly Camo hat. (now in two shade of camo) Nice fish Kean and glad the camo hat gives you a little extra confidence .
Great article about steamer fishing featuring good friend and fellow guide Russ Maddin. Russ, shares a few of this beliefs about streamer fishing. Check out this article, it will help you become a better streamer fisherman. NO matter the species you chase, from brown trout to muskie.
I have no affiliation with the people who make a certain product, but I have to say that some of their stuff is brilliant. The product that I am speaking of is ice dub, and between ice dub and the various colors of flashabou, I could guide every day with little else than thread and hook (though I do like some feathers and fur too:)). During the months of January-March, I rely very heavily on one color family of ice dub. The colors are olive, peacock-eye, peacock, and black peacock. These colors seem to imitate the same things to the fish. It could be that the sheen on this color scheme is just plain appealing to fish (it is an attractor color). On the other hand, it could be that many of the bait fish in the river take on a peacockish tint during the winter months.
When I started looking underwater in the winter, I was surprised at just how many creatures had a bluish/green tint in the winter months. The darter above is just one example of this color scheme in nature during the winter and spring. Crayfish, scuds, gobies, and other fish also have this peacock overtone to their colors.
Whether it is just naturally attractive, or whether it is due to the colors occurring in nature, or some combination of the two, I am not entirely certain. At the end of the day, these colors of ice dub just work great for catching predator fish.
Through the first half of the year, flies with this color scheme can be fished in several different ways. They can be swung on sink tips through flat runs during the winter months for steelhead. Another option is to fish the soft edges of the stream for resident trout with smaller olive or peacock based flies. I really enjoy swinging wet flies for trout and this is a great extension of wet fly fishing through the winter months. Yet another option is to tie weighted sculpins and fish them below an indicator for trout. Often times a nymph pattern is fished on a dropper between the indicator and the weighted sculpin.
This post mentions the months of January through May. However, as a guide, these colors are in my box year around, no matter what species I am guiding for. Give this color family a shot on your local stream. I am pretty sure that it will work!
Thanks for reading this!
If you haven’t heard their is a new invasive species in the Michigan waters, the Mud Snail. In the past two days two new articles have been written about stopping the spread of the Mud Snail. Links are below. Please wash your waders, wading boots, boats and trailers if you plan on fishing different waters this spring and summer.
It’s been over a decade since Bob Linsenman and Kelly Galloup’s “Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout” really took the idea of targeting big trout with big flies to the mainstream. Since then there have been tremendous advances – in gear, in fly design, in knowledge, and in the number of anglers hucking big meal to entice the river monsters out from under the log.
Now a new book from Pennsylvania’s George Daniel has added to the must-read list for the streamer angler. In “Strip-Set: Fly-Fishing Techniques, Tactics, Patterns for Streamers” Mr. Daniel takes all of these advances, mixes them with some insights from some of today’s top streamer purists, and delivers a tool to take your streamer fishing to the next level.
Interestingly, the title topic – strip setting – is mentioned only briefly. As a recent convert to the muskie game, I understand the advantage of the strip set. But it also makes a ton of sense when pursuing trout. Trout-setting only moves the fly away from the fish, adds slack in the line, and generally lowers your odds of a solid hook-up. By contrast, a strip set creates immediate, positive contact. Makes perfect sense! This is but one example of the pragmatic, direct insight that Daniel presents in the book. Can’t wait for this Spring’s big trout hunt! Missed hooksets have been my nemesis in the past.
For years a couple of my friends who are knowledgeable anglers have extolled to “fish the fly, not the line”. In principle, that sounds simple. But what does it MEAN? And how do you actually accomplish that goal? George Daniel delivers that answers at a level that totally changed my thinking and strategy. The book includes extensive discussions of line types – floating, sink-tip, and full-sinking – as well as when to deploy each type.
Another interesting area is his extensive discussion of floating lines. Here in Michigan, we seldom fish streamers on a floating line. It’s generally a sink-tip or intermediate line match to current, depth, etc. At first I thought this to be just a quirk due to the fact the he spends most of his time fishing his native Pennsylvania (though it is clear from his book that he LOVES fishing Michigan) where the waters are typically not as deep. But before long I realized that he was really taking my knowledge to the next level – in some situations, even in deep water, there are significant advantages floating lines offer. This is a recurring theme in this book. There are a lot of tactics that can impact your success; consider them all carefully!
These are but a few of the excellent topics covered in this solid book on the streamer game. Mr. Daniel writes in an engaging style, covers concepts thoroughly but not too extensively, and really addresses the gamut of issues, challenges, and conditions the streamer angler may encounter.
This week I had the opportunity to meet and tie with George Daniel. His personality really reflected the book – straightforward, but with plenty of friendliness and no need for excessive flash. Speaking of flash; his patterns seem incredibly sparse alongside what we’re used to seeing here in Michigan.
I’m eager to put my new knowledge, skills, and insights to work on my next streamer trip! If you’re a streamer angler, put this book on your “must have” list. You won’t be disappointed!
-Sean-
Well, it’s that time of year again. I’ve inventoried my fly boxes and I am scrambling to fill my spring, summer & fall fly boxes for the upcoming seasons, as old man winter starts thinking about taking his nap, I hope! This winter has been full of tinkering with new materials and techniques for favorite fishing, steelhead on the swing. Per usual, I completely forgot to do what I always intend, which is to fill the holes in my boxes from a spring, summer and fall of fishing. Ugh, production tying. Not a fan.
The most enjoyable part of tying for me is the development stage or learning of new patterns. When I sit down to let my mind wander and relax into it’s artistic side & start free styling, my default is steelhead streamers. The array of colors and materials that one could imagine using and attracting this quarry is astounding. So I play with color combos and styles of flies deep into the night while sipping on something brown. Bourbon, rye and scotch being the likely suspects. Sometimes the next day I awake with a headache, grab some coffee and go critique my flies from the night before. The bigger the headache, the more likely it’s “WTF was I thinking!” Sometimes I impress myself and sometimes the razor comes out & the hook is shorn of the monstrosity.
Which begets a question that I hinted to in the title- what are my beverages for tying flies? Sure, whiskey has turned my brain and fingers into madness & what transpired on the vice was abominable, but some nights it’s more about the drink than the tying. Then there are the nights that a neat dram of whiskey is the perfect accompaniment, as a sip every so often soothes my soul and the whiskey’s temperature does not change & some of the resulting flies have found permanent places in my boxes.
So, here’s my guide to what to drink when tying flies. Yours may very as we all have preferences.
One last thought…when it comes time to clean up your tying area, as I know most of us let it go until we can’t stand it, I advise a strong cocktail to ease the pain! Maybe a Dark & Stormy, a Moscow Mule or a Manhattan. My desk is a mess right now and will be until I knock out all my spring & summer flies. Then it will get cleaned up and likely stay that way until after the summer, as I will be too busy fishing & not tying. Unless I blow through a certain pattern that is lighting them up, then it’s back to it and the dreaded production tying begins. Ugh, production tying…and you better bet there will be an adult beverage involved!
Slainte!!!
Had the opportunity to do this on a trip to Argentina one time, I’ll have to say it was one of those experience that I will never forget. Great video about a great fishery.
Worming up from Andes Drifters on Vimeo.
Grand Traverse Bay Smallmouth Bass